My name is Sister Ellen Magallanes. This will be a record of my missionary experiences as I serve in the Australia Adelaide mission (Dec 2013 - Jun 2015). Come witness my journey, my joys and sorrows, my triumphs and tribulations and I pray you will leave inspired and you will see and feel the love of God as it works miracles in my life, and in the lives of all of God's children.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

TRADE OFFS

Trade offs!!!! I'm so happy I got to stay in my area - I love my area.
Sister Funaki came and we had a blast. A righteous blast. We went tracting and
there was this guy middle aged or so and he was drunk as and bless her heart
Sister Funaki she couldn't tell and we were talking to him and he was like "I'm
not interested" but Sister Funaki just got to know him and talked to him and
then he started asking questions like "so how do you know God is real?" "what
makes you come here to my door and think you can tell me what to do? I already
live a good life, why would I need God?" and the words just flowed and we
replied I was really grateful because I've kind of been struggling with loving
people lately - if that makes sense as in if someone is rude I just say thanks
have a nice day and nurse my wounds whereas a more loving missionary would see
past the rudeness and still try to help and still give love - so I was really
glad to be with Sister Funaki because she helped me see past the fact that he
was a drunk lone man at 5pm who had the signs of an alcoholic and who had made
some bad choices in his life. And I told him that I knew Heavenly Father loved
him, and I was able to tell him that because I just knew. And I knew that this
was what our mission was for. We aren't just sent to those that are ready, to
those who welcome us in with open arms, we are sent to help and serve. And that
man needed kindness that night. I asked him a question before we went (and he
will still a little aggressive) I asked him "are you even really happy?" and
then he almost started to cry and he said I hit the nail on the head and all
this bravado about how rubbish religion is really was just a covering for his
insecurities and sadness. It was so sad, I wish I could help more. He was pretty
adamant about no more religious talk but that was okay, we told him we would say
hello when we were in the area. I think serving in lower socio-economic areas is
very eye opening because growing up amidst it in Sydney, near it, not quite in
it, I was always taught to avoid, to hold your bag, not to make eye contact and
hopefully not to live near any housing commission. Which makes sense but as a
missionary ah you just start to love the people and you wish, you wish that you
could do more to help. But they have their agency.

So that was one tracting experience. I've had so many on my mission it all
just blends together.

And Sister Funaki is a star! She just radiates love. I wish I could be more
like that but I think I accept myself for who I am and I try to give where I
have. It's so good having the opportunity to serve with others.

LOCAL RADIO

Now this is another interesting story. So Sasha the one with the beanie has
been running a local live radio for Ramsay Place outside of Colonnades and we
saw her there right after lunch with Dannielle after an appointment in the
library (SO many things happened this week! it's so hard just picking the
choicest experiences...) and when we went over to see what she was doing with
that huge microphone we realised that it was live and it all started when she
asked me for my first name because that launched into discussion about "Sister"
and why I gave up my first name and what else I gave up and why on earth I gave
it up in the first place and what it is like being a missionary in Adelaide. And
then I told her about my two awesome friends Sister Funaki and Dannielle and she
interviewed Dannielle who has just come back from her mission in the Marshall
Islands!!!! Dannielle is so awesome. RM shines from her. I hope to be like that
also (: and she was able to share a bit about her mission experience also and
contacting I think has never been more fun! Haha!

POSH CHIP BUTTY

I'm not sure I told you about this but Marlene and Tom gave us a posh chip
butty. It is posh because of fancy bread and being cut in quarters. It is
Liverpool, England slang they said. It tasted really good and I am determined to
remember it - haha!!

We had a lot of fun trying to say "butty" the way they do. Australia is so
wonderful. So many cultures all in one!

MOSIAH 18:10

I love Mosiah 18:8-10. The words ring so true to me. And we had a really
choice experience with it with Brian yesterday night. Everybody shared testimony
to invite the spirit and then we shared Mosiah 18:8-9 and asked him what his
"spiritual desires" are. After ascertaining that they were to return to live
with God again and that they were very important to him, we asked him to read vs
10 out loud. And it stuck to him. Look it up! Read it yourself (:

I think watching him have a spiritual experience with the Book of Mormon -
because it is spiritual, you know, when you feel like these words written so
long ago are talking directly to you - was so wonderful. We pray a lot that our
investigators will have spiritual experiences. So that was really nice.

Okay I feel like I have so much more still to share about baptismal invites
and stake conferences and other lessons and members doing missionary work and
new people in our teaching pool but you are all probably getting tired so I will
close with a poem our mission president sent us. Sadly I empathise with it way
too much - especially the first two chapters? But that's okay! Christ helps us
through :) He fills all sidewalk holes. I know that is true.

There is a Hole in My Sidewalk

Chapter One:I walk down the
street.There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.I fall in.I am lost...I
am helpless.It isn't my fault.It takes forever to find a way
out.

Chapter Two:I walk down the street.There is a deep hole in
the sidewalk.I pretend that I don't see it.I fall in again.I can't
believe that I am in this same place.But, it isn't my fault.It still
takes a long time to get out.

Chapter Three:I walk down the same
street.There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.I see it is there.I
still fall in...it's a habit...but, myeyes are open.I know where I
am.It is my fault.I get out immediately.

Chapter Four:I walk
down the same street.There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.I walk around
it.

Chapter Five:I walk down another street.

Chapter Six:I
walked down the street with the hole in the sidewalk.... I kneeled down and
filled in the hole so that no one could fall in.

Missionary work is the best! It is so fulfilling being able to do what is
most important to me, my soul feels so full when I pray after a day full of work
because I can feel that I am doing what Heavenly Father wants me to do. Often it
is so easy to lose sight of the difference that one makes and it is so easy to
get bogged down because of my weaknesses, my limitations, shortcomings and sin,
but this is what prayer is for.

Serving a mission has definitely not always been easy, there have been many
times where I can't see past through to the next day, or even the next meal
break .... but the rapid ascents and declines I know are moving me upward.
Because I look back at my mission and my life and I know that I am stronger for
those experiences, I know that I am closer to Heavenly Father and my Saviour for
those experiences.

Maybe one day I'll learn how to get closer with suffering hahahhaaha but I
don't think so. Even our Saviour had to suffer to know what our mortal condition
would be like, even He once was cut off from the presence of our Father - He who
was without sin!

I know you may not be able to exactly know what it is like being a full
time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, maybe not
even ever, and perhaps if you have been, you won't know what it was like to
serve in Adelaide, and if you served in Adelaide, you won't know what it was
like to be me, serving in Adelaide. But my dad always says that a wise person
learns from the mistakes of others so I hope that reading the blog helps you to
learn heaps! And I hope even if I still accidentally use too much jargon you can
trust what you feel and have that taste of what missionary service is like. But
it is different for everyone! Testimony and conversion is such so unique. But I
hope that the sharing of my experiences adds some flavour and colour to your own
spiritual journeys, wherever you are on that path. Feel free to talk to me when
I am back.